I got a Vitamix this summer and I love smoothies! but lately they have been giving me stomachaches. I was not sure that's what it was until I had a very plain strawberry banana one at Booster Juice and was in agony. I wonder if maybe it is too much fruit in one sitting? Or if there is something I am not seeing that would irritate my system?

My typical smoothie is half a banana, half a cup of frozen mango or berries (or half an apple), half a cup each of rice milk and water, a spoonful of sunflower seeds or oats or raisins and a small handful of spinach. That fills one travel mug, which does not *seem* like a crazy serving size...

Today, I made my usual but starting feeling a little ick about halfway through. I put the rest in the fridge when I got to work, had some dry cereal while I checked my messages and felt fine. I am wondering if this means I can keep having the smoothies, just not so much at once. Maybe it is too much fructose or acid or something?

Fwiw I was satiated after half the smoothie plus half a cup of dry cereal. I may have the rest of it with my afternoon snack.

I like the smoothies a lot and feel like it is a great way to get in an extra vegetable serving. It just surprises me that a recipe which calls for one serving would be so hard on my stomach. What is going on here?

Maybe it's just too much at once? My partner and I have a smoothie every morning, but we split about the size you talk about making. On rare occasion we've made a larger amount and I notice that I feel far more full - 8oz really is plenty.

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I also make my smoothie size about 500 mL - almond milk, spinach/other greens, blueberries/other berries, large spoon of protein powder, large spoon of ground flax. No banana. The size is not an issue for me - it works out to be a serving size of each food.

I am curious to know if the bananas are the culprit. You never know what our body is going to throw at you, eh?

The bananas sound like the common ingredient between all your home made smoothies and the purchased one, so I also suspect they might be your problem. You could add nut butter or any kind of plant milk or yogurt or silken tofu to add creaminess. I'm sure it is possible to over do smoothies, but one a day of the size you describe sounds quite reasonable.

I have a latex allergy too (avocado and banana, etc. make me feel horrible).

A great replacer for the thickness and bulk that banana gives a smoothie is oats - I will either use the dry blender to grind up the oats into a flour before making the rest of the smoothie, or soak the oats overnight in water (or non-dairy milk) and dump it in the smoothie too. If you want it a little sweeter - add some agave or maple syrup or stevia maybe?